TNEB set to split up units for reforms
16 Jun 2009, Vivek Narayanan, TNN

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) began much awaited reforms on Monday by registering its transmission company, the first step
towards breaking down the loss-ridden behemoth into smaller units. The move comes six years after central legislation mandated state power boards to separate transmission from generation and distribution of electricity.

The TNEB had submitted its application for registering the company on June 8. On Monday, the registrar of companies informed the board that the company had been registered. “This is the first step in the process of unbundling. We had finished the process well before the elections and once it got over, the election commission gave the go-ahead. The company has been named Tamil Nadu Transmission Company Ltd,” a government official said.

All the 66 KV sub-stations, transmission lines and other facilities run by the state electricity board will fall under the transmission company. As the next step, the official said, the generation and distribution wings of the TNEB would be registered as another company called Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company Ltd. (TNGENDISCO). The holding company will be known as TNEB Ltd.

“We are doing an audit of all our assets and liabilities, including staff. This will be then submitted to the government and transferred in the company’s name once the unbundling is done. This is being done by a Mumbai-based consultancy firm, Feedback Venture,” said the official.